The Zest for Life Keeps a Person Young
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t is not possible to reverse the age, but the zest for life can keep a person young all the time. For this purpose, the mind should be engaged in positive thinking. Since the mind and body are interrelated, activities of mind influence the body and vice versa. As the body grows older, if the mind also thinks that it is getting older, then the person would undoubtedly age faster. However, the mind can remain young. With the passage of time, the mind possesses a wealth of experience; it is more active and is full of good ideas. The energy of the mind thus has the ability to rejuvenate the body that is getting older. When we consider an implement or a weapon to be useless and stop using it, that weapon gradually loses its ability; and rusts with time and eventually stops working completely. On the contrary, when we use a particular instrument continuously over the years, it can prove to be more useful and valuable than a newer tool. It will have the ability to accomplish all our tasks. This is exactly how our life works. If we always keep our body active, think positively, engage in creative jobs, then this very activity makes us valuable to society and keeps us young at heart. In society today, there is an increasing percentage of people who are keen on looking ‘Fit and Fine.’ There is an inherent desire in each one of us to win the battle against time and look young. So, it is no wonder that the fitness industry is growing at a rate of 19% per annum. Not just health, people of all ages are very watchful of their body image because it is an indicator of their age. If we can successfully mask the
age of the body, then nobody will call us old. We can see many older people who look so fit that it is almost impossible to guess their actual age. However, this ‘Fitness Revolution’ applies only to a limited populace living in metros and cities. There is a significant population in our country who consider old age as the fag end of life where everything meaningful comes to a standstill and that they merely have to carry the burden of the body while living a life dependent on others. They also think that they should focus their mind only on worship, rituals, or anything religious. A psychology professor, Elissa Epel, from the University of California, is doing research on correlating lifestyle and age. According to her, if a person wants a better life, then one should incorporate certain changes in one’s lifestyle that help in fitness. Life is all about adapting to changes that keep coming in our way, and staying fit helps us in handling those changes. According to psychologists – ‘If you
Zest is the secret of all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without zest. - Christian Dior AKHAND JYOTI
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MARCH-APRIL 2020
